(Reuters) – The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority will re-examine rider and spectator safety measures after Paris Olympic gold medallist Katy Marchant suffered a broken arm and two dislocated fingers at the London velodrome.
Marchant, 31, was taken to hospital after crashing in the women’s keirin semi-final at the UCI Track Cycling Champions League in London. The organisers decided to suspend all further racing for Saturday after the incident.
Marchant, who won gold in the team sprint in Paris, collided with German rider Alessa-Catriona Propster, sending both over the trackside barrier into a seating area for spectators. Four spectators were also injured in the incident.
“Our next major event is in autumn 2025 and we will work with event partners to explore what else can be done at the venue to improve rider and event spectator safety within the rules and technical regulations which govern track cycling,” the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority told British media on Thursday.
“Structural engineers checked the barrier on Sunday, 8 December, and it is undamaged, and the track reopened as planned to the public on Monday.”
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, a high-speed crash at the same venue saw England’s Matt Walls thrown over the barriers and into the crowd along with his bike. The venue installed a perspex screen around the velodrome in August, raising the barrier height by 50cm to 1.4m.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry)
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